 |
One thing you should know about Mr. Big Flavors, when it comes to food, he isn’t at all restrained. He will go all out for a meal, on both quality and quantity. Case in point… I mentioned to Mr. Big Flavors yesterday morning that I wanted to make an Asian inspired pork dish for dinner, so we could use the bok choy from our CSA box. I innocently assumed that meant he would stop at the store and pick up some ribs, or a shoulder, or maybe some loin. Instead, he bought all of those cuts, and more, totaling 20 pounds of pork which is literally consuming the entire left side of our refrigerator. Way to not go overboard, right? That’s just how he rolls…
For this dish, we used about 2 pounds of the 8 pound pork loin. Mr. Big butchered the rest, and from the remaining 6 pounds, we got 8 chops, cut some into small pieces for a quick stir fry, and left a 3 lb portion whole for the smoker. And at $1.79/pound, we can make 7 meals, so that comes out to about $2.25 per meal. Not to mention leftovers…. I think I love deals even more than I love pork!
Ok that’s a lie, especially after eating this pork dish. The glaze on this pork was outstanding; consisting of both sweet and heat. This is not a thick glaze; it nicely coats the meat, and leaves it very moist. Don’t be surprised when you see this glaze on another (or two or three) Little Kitchen Big Flavors posts. I already have plans for this glaze on both grilled chicken and shrimp.
For the side dishes, I was able to use the bok choy in a garlicky side dish, which was super quick and extremely flavorful. We also made a delicious fried rice side. We have two secrets to our fried rice. First, cook the vegetables separately, and only about halfway through. Then fry the rice and add the vegetables back in to finish cooking at the end. Second, cook the rice early and let it sit for about an hour, so it dries out just a bit and crisps up easier when frying.
Sweet & Spicy Pork Loin with Vegetable Stirfry & Baby Bok Choy
Print recipe
| Serves | 6 |
| Prep time | 35 minutes |
| Cook time | 45 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hours, 20 minutes |
| Meal type | Main Dish, Side Dish |
This Asian inspired pork is glazed with sweet agave, hot siracha, and kick of tequila and lemon juice. Served with fried rice and garlicky bok choy, this will be a meal to remember.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup canola or extra virgin oil (divided use)
Fried Rice
- 2 cups brown rice (cooked and slightly dried)
- 1/2 cup diced carrot
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup diced green garlic (or 2 garlic cloves, minced)
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 eggs (scrambled)
Pork
- 2lb pork loin
- 2 tablespoons siracha
- 1/2 lemon (juiced)
- 2 tablespoons agave syrup
- 1 tablespoon tequila
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Bok Choy
- 1 head baby bok choy (cut in half)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions
| Fried Rice | |
| 1. | Heat 2 TBSP canola oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add all vegetables except the green garlic. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they have cooked halfway through (red onions will be just transparent). Remove vegetables from the pan. |
| 2. | Add another 2 TBSP canola oil to the same pan, and once oil is very hot, add the rice and spread out to cover the surface of the pan. Let the rice fry for about 3 minutes, tossing occasionally. Then, add garlic and partially cooked vegetables to the rice. Continue cooking another minute. |
| 3. | Add soy sauce and sesame oil, and toss with the rice and vegetables. Add the eggs & stir, just about 30 seconds or so, as the eggs will cook very fast. |
| Pork | |
| 4. | Make the pork glaze by combining siracha, lemon juice, agave, tequila, and sugar in a bowl. Stir to combine all ingredients. |
| 5. | Heat 1/4 cup of oil over medium high heat in an oven safe skillet. Once it is hot, add the pork loin and sear on all sides. While the pork is searing, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. |
| 6. | Brush half of the glaze all over the pork, and immediately transfer the pork to the oven. Let it cook for about 30 minutes or so, brushing the remaining glaze over the meat about halfway through. The pork is done when the internal temperature is between 145-160 degrees (depending on if you like it cooked medium or well). |
| Bok Choy | |
| 7. | Heat 2 TBSP of oil over medium high heat. Add bok choy, cut side down, and cook for about 30 seconds. |
| 8. | Then, add the minced garlic and salt, stir and cook for another minute. Add the wine and sesame oil and cook 1-2 minutes more, until bok choy is softened. |
The three components to this meal took about an hour to put together, but it was well worth the effort. Even if you made these separately, they are sure to taste great. Just promise me you won’t skip the pork? I’m drooling just thinking about how delicious it is.
Subscription Options
Last Four Big Flavors recipes... Click on a pic!
